The Bible

 

Genesis 9

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1 καὶ ηὐλόγησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν νωε καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε καὶ πληρώσατε τὴν γῆν καὶ κατακυριεύσατε αὐτῆς

2 καὶ ὁ τρόμος ὑμῶν καὶ ὁ φόβος ἔσται ἐπὶ πᾶσιν τοῖς θηρίοις τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ ὄρνεα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ κινούμενα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς ἰχθύας τῆς θαλάσσης ὑπὸ χεῖρας ὑμῖν δέδωκα

3 καὶ πᾶν ἑρπετόν ὅ ἐστιν ζῶν ὑμῖν ἔσται εἰς βρῶσιν ὡς λάχανα χόρτου δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὰ πάντα

4 πλὴν κρέας ἐν αἵματι ψυχῆς οὐ φάγεσθε

5 καὶ γὰρ τὸ ὑμέτερον αἷμα τῶν ψυχῶν ὑμῶν ἐκζητήσω ἐκ χειρὸς πάντων τῶν θηρίων ἐκζητήσω αὐτὸ καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς ἀνθρώπου ἀδελφοῦ ἐκζητήσω τὴν ψυχὴν τοῦ ἀνθρώπου

6 ὁ ἐκχέων αἷμα ἀνθρώπου ἀντὶ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ ἐκχυθήσεται ὅτι ἐν εἰκόνι θεοῦ ἐποίησα τὸν ἄνθρωπον

7 ὑμεῖς δὲ αὐξάνεσθε καὶ πληθύνεσθε καὶ πληρώσατε τὴν γῆν καὶ πληθύνεσθε ἐπ' αὐτῆς

8 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς τῷ νωε καὶ τοῖς υἱοῖς αὐτοῦ μετ' αὐτοῦ λέγων

9 ἐγὼ ἰδοὺ ἀνίστημι τὴν διαθήκην μου ὑμῖν καὶ τῷ σπέρματι ὑμῶν μεθ' ὑμᾶς

10 καὶ πάσῃ ψυχῇ τῇ ζώσῃ μεθ' ὑμῶν ἀπὸ ὀρνέων καὶ ἀπὸ κτηνῶν καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς θηρίοις τῆς γῆς ὅσα μεθ' ὑμῶν ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν ἐξελθόντων ἐκ τῆς κιβωτοῦ

11 καὶ στήσω τὴν διαθήκην μου πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ οὐκ ἀποθανεῖται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἔτι ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ κατακλυσμοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι κατακλυσμὸς ὕδατος τοῦ καταφθεῖραι πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν

12 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς πρὸς νωε τοῦτο τὸ σημεῖον τῆς διαθήκης ὃ ἐγὼ δίδωμι ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ὑμῶν καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον πάσης ψυχῆς ζώσης ἥ ἐστιν μεθ' ὑμῶν εἰς γενεὰς αἰωνίους

13 τὸ τόξον μου τίθημι ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ καὶ ἔσται εἰς σημεῖον διαθήκης ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ τῆς γῆς

14 καὶ ἔσται ἐν τῷ συννεφεῖν με νεφέλας ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ὀφθήσεται τὸ τόξον μου ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ

15 καὶ μνησθήσομαι τῆς διαθήκης μου ἥ ἐστιν ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ὑμῶν καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον πάσης ψυχῆς ζώσης ἐν πάσῃ σαρκί καὶ οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι τὸ ὕδωρ εἰς κατακλυσμὸν ὥστε ἐξαλεῖψαι πᾶσαν σάρκα

16 καὶ ἔσται τὸ τόξον μου ἐν τῇ νεφέλῃ καὶ ὄψομαι τοῦ μνησθῆναι διαθήκην αἰώνιον ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον πάσης ψυχῆς ζώσης ἐν πάσῃ σαρκί ἥ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

17 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ θεὸς τῷ νωε τοῦτο τὸ σημεῖον τῆς διαθήκης ἧς διεθέμην ἀνὰ μέσον ἐμοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον πάσης σαρκός ἥ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς

18 ἦσαν δὲ οἱ υἱοὶ νωε οἱ ἐξελθόντες ἐκ τῆς κιβωτοῦ σημ χαμ ιαφεθ χαμ ἦν πατὴρ χανααν

19 τρεῖς οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ νωε ἀπὸ τούτων διεσπάρησαν ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν

20 καὶ ἤρξατο νωε ἄνθρωπος γεωργὸς γῆς καὶ ἐφύτευσεν ἀμπελῶνα

21 καὶ ἔπιεν ἐκ τοῦ οἴνου καὶ ἐμεθύσθη καὶ ἐγυμνώθη ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ αὐτοῦ

22 καὶ εἶδεν χαμ ὁ πατὴρ χανααν τὴν γύμνωσιν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐξελθὼν ἀνήγγειλεν τοῖς δυσὶν ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ ἔξω

23 καὶ λαβόντες σημ καὶ ιαφεθ τὸ ἱμάτιον ἐπέθεντο ἐπὶ τὰ δύο νῶτα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ὀπισθοφανῶς καὶ συνεκάλυψαν τὴν γύμνωσιν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῶν ὀπισθοφανές καὶ τὴν γύμνωσιν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν οὐκ εἶδον

24 ἐξένηψεν δὲ νωε ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴνου καὶ ἔγνω ὅσα ἐποίησεν αὐτῷ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ὁ νεώτερος

25 καὶ εἶπεν ἐπικατάρατος χανααν παῖς οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ

26 καὶ εἶπεν εὐλογητὸς κύριος ὁ θεὸς τοῦ σημ καὶ ἔσται χανααν παῖς αὐτοῦ

27 πλατύναι ὁ θεὸς τῷ ιαφεθ καὶ κατοικησάτω ἐν τοῖς οἴκοις τοῦ σημ καὶ γενηθήτω χανααν παῖς αὐτῶν

28 ἔζησεν δὲ νωε μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν τριακόσια πεντήκοντα ἔτη

29 καὶ ἐγένοντο πᾶσαι αἱ ἡμέραι νωε ἐννακόσια πεντήκοντα ἔτη καὶ ἀπέθανεν

   

From Swedenborg's Works

 

Arcana Coelestia #482

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482. Until now nobody has known what the years and the numbers of years occurring in this chapter mean in the internal sense. People who stay within the sense of the letter imagine that they are no more than chronological years. But none of the content from here down to Chapter 12 is history as it seems to be in the sense of the letter, for every single detail contains something of a different nature. What applies to names applies to numbers as well. In the Word the number three occurs frequently, and so does the number seven; and in every instance they mean something holy or inviolable as regards those states which the periods of time or whatever else that is mentioned embody or represent. This applies as much to the shortest as to the longest time-intervals; for just as parts makeup the whole, so do the shortest make up the longest. For a similarity must exist in order that a whole may emerge satisfactorily out of the parts, or that which is largest out of that which is smallest.

[2] As in Isaiah,

Jehovah has now spoken, saying, In three years, according to the years of a hireling, the glory of Moab will be rendered worthless. Isaiah 16:14.

In the same prophet,

The Lord said to me, Within yet a year, according to the years of a hireling, and all the glory of Kedar will be brought to an end. Isaiah 21:6.

Here both the shortest as well as the longest time-intervals are meant. In Habakkuk,

O Jehovah, I have heard Your fame; I was afraid. O Jehovah, revive Your work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years do You make it known. Habakkuk 3:2.

Here 'the midst of the years' stands for the Lord's Coming. If the intervals are shorter this stands for every coming of the Lord, as when a person is being regenerated; but if longer it stands for the rising anew of the Lord's Church. It is also called in Isaiah 'the year of the redeemed', The day of vengeance was in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. Isaiah 63:4.

So too 'the thousand years' for which Satan is to be bound, Revelation 20:2-3, 7, and 'the thousand years' associated with the first resurrection, Revelation 20:4-6. These in no way mean a thousand years but the states associated with them. For just as 'days, as shown 'already, are interpreted as a state, so too are 'years', and the states are described by the number of the years. From this it becomes clear that periods of time in this chapter also embody states, for every Church experienced a different state of perception from the next, according to differences of disposition resulting from inherited and acquired characteristics.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.